CD Reviews

The Best Year for Disco Music

Ryan A. Rigg | 03/11/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I own three CD's in this series by Rhino (the other 2 being 1976 and 1977 - see my reviews), but this one is clearly the best. 1979 was the year disco music peaked. There was disco music after 1979, but they just stopped calling it disco because of the negative connotation. That year saw lots of non-disco artists jump on the disco band wagon including Rod Stewart (Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?), Paul McCartney (Goodnight Tonight), Blondie (Heart of Glass), and Barbra Streisand (The Main Event/Fight). Here is my track by track review of this CD:

1. Born to be Alive by Patrick Hernandez: An infectious rock/disco song that is great to dance to. One of my all-time favourites and a Pop hit (#16) as well. Also, Madonna got her start as a dancer for him.

2. Contact by Edwin Starr: This song did not do as well on the Pop chart as it should have, reaching only #65. A great funk/disco number.

3. Come to Me by France Joli: Although she had lots of dance hits and international hits, this was her only song to crossover and have Pop succes (#15). I still love this song even though it is almost 26 years old.

4. Ring my Bell by Anita Ward: This song has been sampled many times by rappers over the years (Marky Mark, Will Smith, etc). Disco was much maligned, but it is funny how often that driving disco beat has been recycled over the years. Very sexy song and a #1 Pop hit as well.

5. Take me Home by Cher: Cher was another artist to jump on the disco band wagon with this song. However, unlike some of the other artists who "went disco", Cher had a little bit more credibility in stepping into the genre as she was a regular at Studio 54 during that period. A great song and her last big Pop hit (#8) until late '87/early '88 when she resurfaced as the queen of the power ballad.

6. I've Got the Next Dance by Deniece Williams: Not one of Deniece's strongest records. This song only went to #73 on the Pop chart, and I think it is because even disco music at the time was constantly changing and this tune seems more like something from 1976 or 1977 as opposed to the more driving beats of 1979.

7. No One Gets the Prize/The Boss by Diana Ross: This mix presented here is great. Although I remember only hearing "The Boss" part on Top 40 radio at the time, hearing the 2 songs together sounds even better. A club classic.

8. Move on Up/Up Up Up by Destination: A fairly anonymous disco song that I had never heard until I bought this CD.

9. Hot Stuff/Bad Girls by Donna Summer: I owned this 12" back in the summer of 1979 and played it over and over. I have many Donna Summer CD's, but I am so glad Rhino provided this 12" mix of the 2 songs as I used to love playing them back during that magical Summer of '79. And it truly was the "Summer of '79" as Donna ruled the charts in 1979 with 5 Top 10 Pop Hits and 3 #1 Double Albums (the only artist to ever achieve 3 #1 double albums in one chart year).

10. I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor: A great, dramatic disco song and a #1 Pop hit as well. This possibly has been a little overplayed over the years, but I still love it.

All of the songs on this CD are #1 Disco hits except "Take me Home" which went to #2. A great compilation of the Top Disco songs of 1979. Relive the magic!"

"The year saw the culmination of the disco era; in the next decade dance music became Hi-NRG and lost some of its melodic appeal and variety. Born To Be Alive by Patrick Hernandez is a brilliant piece of passionate disco with lots of hooks and a great tune, while Anita Ward's Ring My Bell introduced the syndrum to great effect, I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor is a powerful anthem and the Hot Stuff/Bad Girls mix is an ageless classic, a devastating dance piece containing two of Donna Summer's greatest hits from the year when she dominated the Billboard charts with at least four hits from her brilliant Bad Girls album. At one stage during that year, these songs occupied the No. 1 and 2 positions on the Billboard Hot 100 for a couple of weeks. Both Hot Stuff and Bad Girls featured heavy rock guitar, representing a dramatic break from Summer's earlier synth and strings sound. The other songs have aged surprisingly well although they don't quite have the status of classics. This album is ideal for parties but also offers great listening enjoyment."